In a fuel cell device comprised of a plurality of stacked fuel cells, it is common practice to measure (monitor) the voltage of the fuel cell device and to use the obtained measurement value as an index for control. More specifically, a measured voltage is used as an index for controlling the supply of a fuel gas and an oxidizing gas to the fuel cells, or as an index for diagnosing failure, etc., of the fuel cells. In order to measure the voltage of the fuel cell device, a connector for measuring voltage is electrically connected to a part of the fuel cell device.
Meanwhile, in order to obtain a fuel cell device smaller in size, a reduction in thickness of each fuel cell is now being attempted. When making the fuel cell thinner, maintaining its structural strength is an issue. If a connector is connected to the fuel cell as described above, the possibility of breakage of the fuel cell may increase due to an external force applied by the connector. In particular, when the fuel cell device is installed on a vehicle, unavoidable external forces, such as vibrations during driving, are continuously applied via the connector, which causes a great concern of breakage. Moreover, there is a concern of complicated assembly if a connector is connected to each of the cells.
In light of the above, Patent Document 1, indicated below, discloses a configuration in which one connector is electrically connected to several separators of the fuel cells. As a result, external force will be distributed and a load applied to each separator can be made relatively small so that breakage of the separators can be suppressed and ease of assembly can be improved.